


Christmas Carnival

by grumpyfrumpy



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fluff, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Romance, Secret Santa, Slice of Life, widomauk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 06:53:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17421137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumpyfrumpy/pseuds/grumpyfrumpy
Summary: Molly wants to take Caleb to the Christmas Carnival.Caleb says yes.





	Christmas Carnival

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift, part of the Widomauk Server Exchange, where Gio (gwynbleidd) asked for modern AU with magic! Widomauk going to a carnival with a lot off tooth-rotting fluff. I did my best, I'm not the best at fluff but I wanted to write something sweet and wholesome with our good bois. I hope that you like it, I wanted to give it to you ASAP so I'm sorry if there are grammar mistakes (I didn't proof read it's probably obvious). And sorry it's so late! Life got in the way and I've been busy. So sorry that this is much after Christmas and new year's day.
> 
> And with that I wish you a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah, and a happy happy new year! <3 Hope you enjoy, again!

“A carnival.”

Caleb looks at his friend in disbelief as the tiefling, leaning over the counter, speaks to him. Mollymauk Tealeaf was a _beautiful_ lavender tiefling. Currently, he was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, his barista uniform, but often people have seen Molly wear a beautiful red coat, handmade with planets and constellations sewn onto the back. His horns were adorned with ornaments of silver and gold, and he had peacock feathers tattooed along the right of his neck up to his jawline. Very fitting to his overzealous and flamboyant personality.

Caleb Widogast, on the other hand, was far from flamboyant. He was of the quiet kind, keeping to himself save for their small circle of friends. Ironically he was also selected to be a manager at the bookstore, no doubt an attempt of the staff to boost his confidence (it worked - though he would never admit to it).

He had muted ginger hair, longish. Enough to be tied back into a small bun, and a beard (no, _had_ a beard, until his roommate Nott forced him to reduce it to a mere stubble). One of the ways in which people recognised Caleb was by his old and often smelly brown coat, which only went into the washing machine once a month, if Nott was lucky enough to get her hands on it.

Mollymauk gives the wizard a familiar smile, one laced with excitement and mischief. Caleb knew this smile - it meant that there was no way he was going to get out of this social outing. He lowered his books down onto the counter, looking at the tiefling curiously.

“Yeah, yeah, a _carnival_ .” Molly nodded, his tail swishing behind him excitedly. Caleb noticed the slight imitation of his accent in Molly's  voice and couldn't help but think, _oh, how cute._

“Don’t you have better things to do than ask me on a date, Mr. Mollymauk?” Caleb teased, nodding back at the small cafe that was situated in the decently sized _Pumat Books_. “Maybe get back to your job? I think the line seems to be getting bigger.”

Mollymauk glanced back at the growing line, and at his colleague Yasha, who was struggling to get coffees out on time. She turned towards Molly briefly, glaring daggers at him. He simply waved back at her with a sheepish smile, before turning back towards Caleb.

“Eh. Yasha'll manage. She’s very good at crowd control, one look at her grumpy face and people’ll be pissin’ their pants for sure.”

Caleb glanced at Molly furtively. Yasha looked far from managing the crowd, so he looked down to his side, at the young woman sat on the floor, hidden from view by the register.

“Beauregard.” He lightly tapped her head, making her take out her earphones and look at him in disgruntlement. Beauregard had brown hair of different hues, tied up into a bun with a blue ribbon and head shaved on the sides, and her ears were laden with piercings.

“Whaddaya want, Caleb? I’ve got an hour left on my shift and no customers.” She grumbled, standing up slowly. Noticing Molly standing at the desk, she made a face of disgust. “Ugh, really? Yer making me serve _this_ asshole?”  
“Good to see you too, Beauregard.” Molly rolled his eyes, clearly displeased that she had been pulled into their conversation.

“I’ll let you off work early today, Beau, but _for a favour_.” Beau’s face had lit up, only to be replaced with a skeptical look as she turned towards Caleb.

“Please go help Yasha finish off her orders. Perhaps she’ll be thankful enough to agree to come home with you this time.” Caleb murmured innocently, but there was a hint of a teasing smile. Molly snorted as Beauregard’s cheeks filled with colour at the implications of those words, and she hastily left without putting up much protest.

“You’re a good man, Caleb.” Molly smiled at the wizard. Caleb looks back at Molly with his bright blue eyes, widened in mild surprise. Molly stood up straighter, looking directly at the other man.

“And I would love to take you out onto a date. I won’t leave until you say yes.”  
“That doesn’t give me much choice, does it now?” Caleb chuckles half-heartedly, and Molly sighs, resting his hand over Caleb’s. The touch surprises Caleb, but Molly’s hold on his wrist stops him from pulling away.

“I wouldn’t be so pushy if I didn’t know you felt the same. I know you want to come.” Molly said softly, in a tone unlike Caleb had ever heard from him.

“Molly… I do not do well in public, you know this.” Caleb mumbled weakly. It wasn’t entirely a lie. Caleb could manage enough to buy what he needed from a supermarket or keep up in casual conversation with a kind-looking stranger when they spoke to him.

But crowds and loud noises were not his cup or tea. The one time he had brought himself to go with a fair with the rest of their friends, the sensory overload had caused a panic attack so bad that they all cut their trip short and returned home. More than embarrassment, Caleb felt deeply regretful that he had ruined everyone else's time to enjoy that day. Since then he mostly avoided large social gatherings when he could.

“I want you to try. I promise I'll look after you well.” Mollymauk looked at Caleb pleadingly. “If it really gets so bad, don't worry. I have Clay on speed dial.”

Caleb scoffed at the statement. “You have Caduceus on speed dial. _You_ .”  
“Okay, we all know I hate the bastard and his obsession with tea leaves.” Even Molly found himself chuckling at the little joke he hadn’t meant to make. “But he knows how to help you. And I'll do whatever if I can't help you myself.”

Caleb had to admit, he was touched by the dedication Mollymauk was showing towards taking him out on a date. Though, he wished the tiefling showed the same concern towards his work. He could feel himself slowly being sucked into Yasha’s circle of people she resented.

“Ugh, _Ja_ . _Ja_ , Mollymauk, it’s a _date_.” Caleb nodded impatiently, partly because he knew Yasha would be furious at him for keeping Molly, and partly because his face was turning a bright red shade of embarrassment. “I’ll… I’ll call you afterwards.”

Molly’s lips curved upwards in a smirk, and he nodded slowly. “Oho. I’ll be waiting for _your_ call then, Mr. Caleb.”

He winked at Caleb, who wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow him when he realised he said that _he_ would be the one to call Molly, and not the other way around. Once Molly had disappeared into the breakroom, Caleb groaned into his palms, dropping to his knees in mild shock.

“Caleb! Are you okay?” He could hear Jester shout in the distance, probably alerting the entire store of him feeling faint. It left him embarrassed, as well as wishing he had learned spells to open up the ground and go down with it.

 

 

After a few hours and a mild panic attack, Caleb was sat in the back room, a smoothie in one hand and a chocolate biscuit in another. He tried to say that he was fine, but Jester and Fjord were insistent that he took the rest of the day off.

“Yes, that’s all fine, but was there really a need to call Caduceus to come here? _Nein, das is nicht gut-_ ”  
“Well, he’s on his way already, so just let him take you home.” Fjord shrugged, giving Caleb a sympathetic smile as Jester waved goodbye to the both of them and left the breakroom.

Fjord and Caleb shared a quiet moment, before the former broke the silence with a cough. “So, you and Molly, huh?”

Caleb’s cheeks turned pink once again as he looked at Fjord with what was something of a glare. “It’s only a date. Molly wouldn’t take no for an answer.”  
“Yeah. That’s Molly for ya, I guess. Though, I think more could come out of it.”

Caleb raised a brow at Fjord curiously. “What do you mean, Fjord?”  
“I’m pretty sure the feeling’s mutual, Caleb. Hopefully after the date you’ll stop holding back from what you want.” Fjord chuckles, before giving Caleb a nod of farewell and following Jester out the door.

The wizard could not ponder too much on those words, for the door opened once again, and a familiar voice sounded through the room.

“Caleb? Are you alright?” Caduceus walked towards Caleb, before he frowned. “Strange. I thought you were going to be worse for wear.”

Caduceus was a tall firbolg that already towered over Caleb when they were both stood, so right now he felt even taller than usual. He had bright pink hair, shaved on one side and falling down his shoulders gracefully. He was wearing a leather jacket and jeans with a white t-shirt, and even if it had been a few weeks since Caduceus upgraded his fashion sense, Caleb still could not get used to it.

“Honestly, I think the one that is worse for wear is you.” Caleb muttered pointedly towards Caduceus’s jacket, a green and blue painted hodgepodge. The comment earned himself a light smack on the head.

“Very funny, Caleb. I just thought with how hysterical Jester sounded through the phone, you were a sobbing mess. Guess I should have known better than to worry.”

Caleb shrugged as he picked up his things and followed Caduceus out of the break room, the bookstore, the shopping mall, and into the parking lot where a beautiful vintage Chevrolet car was parked. The day was bright and sunny, opposed to the gloom and darkness the clouds earlier had brought.

The pair were silent as Caduceus pulled the car out onto the street, driving them down the road back to their building. Being neighbours with Caduceus often meant that the firbolg would drop him off to work in the mornings. Always a bonus.

Caleb was staring out the window when Caduceus coughed slightly, making the wizard turn towards him.

“What happened, then, today?”

As soon as that question was asked, Caleb's cheeks turned frightfully red, but he managed to answer, “Tealeaf asked me out on a date.”  
“Oho. And you're excited, right?”

There was a teasing smile on his face, and Caleb shrugged, unable to meet Caduceus’ eye. “Um, sure, if that's what you'd like to believe.”  
“Are you not, then?” They had stopped at a signal, and Caduceus was looking at Caleb with concern. Caleb bit the inside of his mouth, as he said quietly, “I don't think I'm good enough for him.”

Caduceus shook his head slowly. “No. I think you’re wonderful, and clearly so does Mollymauk.”  
“But what if he won’t feel that way after our date?” Caleb shook his head, looking back to the front as the cars started to move. “What if he just… he is so flamboyant, I am not, I am not as magical as he is and I cannot liven up a room. I do not want to be noticed, and he craves attention. However will it work?”

The firbolg put a hand on Caleb’s thigh, the touch immediately calming him.

“Caleb. I don’t think Mollymauk cares about that. He knows what you are like as a person and he understands there will be limitations. I don’t think he would approach you all if he wasn’t ready for that.”

Caleb nodded rapidly, feeling too overwhelmed to speak anything. Caduceus gave him an understanding smile, speeding them off back to their apartment.

 

“Stop, stop- _stop it,_ Caleb!” Nott shrieked, smacking the wizard on top of his head as she ran a comb through his hair. “Stop fidgeting and let me make you look _beautiful_.”

Caleb, who had raised his hand once again to try and swat away the comb, immediately became docile. Grumbling, he sat still as he allowed the goblin to comb his hair, which had been washed after much convincing.

“Is this really necessary, Nott?” Caleb mumbled as Nott finished off the last of his hair, before jumping down to look at him from the front.

“Of course it is, Caleb! You are going on a date, you are going to have a fun time with Molly and you need to look your best!” Nott grinned crookedly. Caleb did not seem to be convinced, giving her a suspicious look.

“Perhaps he will not have a fun time, though, Nott.”  
“Caleb. Any time with you is a fun time.” Nott gave him a smile, one that made Caleb feel all of a sudden more brave for the evening to come. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Nott's.

“Thank you.” It was all that he could manage. Nott seemed to understand, and stepped back to give him a good look.

He dressed a beige turtleneck sweater, as the nights were often chilly in December. Black jeans (“Because black suits anyone and anything!”, says Nott) and his favourite blue scarf and coat waiting for him on one of the sofas, washed and fragrant with lavender scents.

“Perfect. You look wonderful, Caleb.” Nott clasped her hands together in a manner too similar to Jester's. She seemed to resent her own actions, immediately sticking her tongue out in disgust.

“Well, thank you, Nott, let us hope that Mollymauk will feel the same.” Caleb nodded unsurely. He was used to being a little rough around the edges so that strange people would not approach him. In fact, baths were a rarity until he had started working at Pumat Books, after which Jester and Beau’s intervention resulted in forcing himself to be clean so he could keep his job.

The doorbell rang, making Caleb jump as he was wearing his coat, and he looked at Nott nervously. She gave him a thumbs up as she walked up to the door.

“Hello, Nott.” Molly grinned, holding out some flowers down to Nott. “For you.”  
“Disgusting. Give them to him.” Nott moved to the side to let Molly inside the flat. She glanced quickly between him and Caleb, and strategically moved herself to her bedroom, gathering Caleb’s cat Frumpkin in her arms, lest he thought of Molly to be a threat.

“Mr. Caleb.” Molly smirked as he held out the bouquet of flowers out towards Caleb, who slowly walked forward and took them from his hands carefully.

“Mollymauk.” The wizard accepted the flowers with a blush, the smell of lavender coming through before anything else. “T-Thank you, you shouldn't have.”  
“No. But I wanted to.” Molly smiled, moving closer to Caleb. He was wearing a white t-shirt that had the words “Dead on the Inside” in a Stranger Things inspired typography, tucked into jeans that barely reached the ankle. And his coat, of course. That wonderful, wonderful coat.

“You look lovely.” Molly looks at Caleb, and then back at himself. “I feel a little under dressed now.”  
“No!” Caleb yelped, startling the both of them He had a blush forming on his cheeks from the embarrassment of his sudden outburst as he stammered out, “No, you're… you're perfect.”

Mollymauk smiled again, this time more warmly, and it made Caleb relax as he lowered the flowers, looking at the tiefling in anticipation.

“Shall we, then?” Molly held out an arm towards the other, who took it very hesitantly and stepped close to Molly. “Nervous?”  
“A little bit. But I have a small bag of dried flowers on my person if things do get bad.” Caleb patted his coat pocket, as they walked out of the flat and closed the door behind them. Molly looked as Caleb knowingly, as he murmured, “Lavender, mm?”

Caleb nodded, now catching the faint scent of the purple flowers from the tiefling's coat. Perhaps Molly hadn't thought too much about his perfume choices, but Caleb was touched that he remembered, nonetheless.

“So, how do we get there?”  
“We walk. It is a nice evening. Not too chilly I think.”

 

 

The pair reached the carnival after a short walk, and Caleb could feel himself tense up at the sight of the people that filed in through the gates. Instinctively he brought himself closed to Molly, who put an arm around his shoulder.

“Is this alright?” Molly asked as they ventured closer to the entrance. Caleb nodded slowly, bringing his scarf up to his mouth so he inhale the calming scents and try to get himself to relax some more.

“I'll start us off with somewhere a little quieter. We can grab something to eat. They’ve got pretzels here, how about it? And not the crispy ones, the ones you make with bread.” Molly glanced down at Caleb, who had looked up at him with a meek nod.

“ _Ja_ , that sounds good.” Caleb said quietly as Molly whisked him off towards a pretzel stand. There were less people here, which was comfortable enough for the wizard to let his guard down a little. He lowered his scarf when Molly handed him one to eat, and took a tentative nibble at it.

“Oh, that's delicious.” Caleb lit up as he took another bite of the pretzel, the flavour of the cheese spread in between the bread reminding him so much of home. “Do you know that this is called _laugenbrezel_ ? It means soft pretzel, so this is how we can tell the difference.”  
“Hadn't the slightest clue!” Molly shrugged, indulging in one of his own. “But it helps if you want to tell the two kinds apart, yeah.”  
“ _Ja_ , I think so too.” Caleb nodded as Molly lead them towards another of the carnival's attractions titled 'The House of Mirrors’. “Oh no, is this what I think it is, Mollymauk?”

“Yes. We're going.” Mollymauk gently pushed Caleb through the door, following behind closely. He could feel the wizard tense up again in his hold, and peered over Caleb's shoulder to look down at him.

“All okay?” He asked slowly, wondering if the man was not feeling the crowd, but a smirk filled Molly's expression when he saw a blush filling up Caleb's face.

“Y-Yes, of course. It's, um, very warm in here.” Caleb stuttered out, feeling the heat in his cheeks from Molly being so close to him. “A-Are you not warm, Molly- Mollymauk?”  
“On the contrary. I haven't worn enough, and you're very warm.” Molly wrapped his arms around Caleb's waist. “But if you're really uncomfortable, darling, I can let go.”

Caleb shook his head, deciding that he quite liked being in Molly's arms. He felt safe, and more aware of the warmth that Molly had rather than the people around him. Or perhaps Molly had doused himself in so much lavender that Caleb had gotten high off of it. _Since when did he enjoy the smell of those flowers so much anyway?_

“ _Oh mein gott-_ ” Caleb caught sight of himself and Molly in one of the mirrors, squished together in a square shaped form. Molly turned towards the mirror, bursting into laughter upon the ghastly sight. The mirror only exaggerated the movements of his mouth, making Caleb let out a snort.

“You look dreadful.” Caleb snickered as they manoeuvred through the other beings in the room, catching their reflections in all sorts of mirrors and sharing laughter.

“I am dreadful.” Molly chuckled as he now lead Caleb by the hand to a small stall with shelves of toys on one end, and in the middle, three differently coloured glass bottles. A young tiefling, with emerald skin and no older than ten, looked at the two with a smile.

“Molly! Is this the wizard you talked about?” The young tiefling girl looked at Caleb with bright eyes. Feeling very conscious, he hid himself behind Molly, turning to the side with flushed cheeks.

“Ah, Gaia, you’ve made him shy. Just when I was starting to get him comfortable, too.” Molly tsked at the girl, who, when Caleb peeked from behind his friend, was pouting furiously. He managed to give her a small smile despite himself, letting her know that he was alright.

“Well, do you want to have a try at this? Get the rings on all three bottles and you win a prize.” Gaia held the hoops out towards Caleb, who looked between her and Molly slowly.

“Yeah, why not, Caleb, you could win us something.” He stepped aside a little so Caleb could come forward and take the hoops from Gaia. Molly leaned in to whisper, “Maybe you could use a little spell to help you get them all in. Gaia won’t tell anyone.”

Caleb looked at Molly slowly, a mischievous smile tugging at the tiefling’s lips. Caleb, not wanting to be one to disappoint, and also because he did not rely too much on his ring-in-the-bottle skills, decided it would be wise to heed Molly’s advice. He muttered a small spell, under his breath so the people around him wouldn’t hear.

“You’ll have to pay extra for that, Tealeaf-” Gaia began to protest, but Molly shushed the younger girl with a wave of the hand as they both watched the wizard begin to effortlessly get the first, the second, and finally the last hoop through the coloured bottles. Even he seemed to be surprised that it had worked so well, and Gaia gave him a small bow as she gestured towards the shelves of toys.

“Well done, Mr. Wizard. You can choose any of these toys, _free of cost._ ” The last few words carried spite in them as she glared at Molly, who simply ignored her and winked at Caleb.

“Might I suggest something, Caleb?” Molly leaned in again, pointing towards a stuffed toy of what looked like a lilac tiefling clothed in a black t-shirt. This was almost too comical, and Caleb had to stop himself from saying something for there was _no way_ that the toy was there by chance.

“O-Oh. Yes. I’ll take that one.” Despite knowing _exactly_ what that meant, however, Caleb still picked it anyway. He thought that it would be nice to have some company in his room, and tried not to think too much about the fact that it looked like Molly (but that was also something that he liked about his prize).

“There we go. Cheers, Gaia.” Molly handed the young tiefling a gold and a silver, bringing a smile to the girl’s face. She waved as the two walked off, shouting behind them, “Enjoy your date!”  
“Bless her. She’s a good kid. Wants to join the circus here, but her father won’t hear of it. So I help her out, while I can, have her do odd jobs like this. Well, not by bringing romantic interests to her stall like I did just now.”

Caleb stopped in his tracks, looking up at Molly in surprise. _Romantic interest?_ Sure, that was the whole point of the date, but hearing the words come out of his mouth had nearly knocked the breath out of Caleb. In a good way, of course.

Molly’s gaze was filled with warmth and adoration, lips curved up into a small smile. It made Caleb conscious of his rapid heartbeat, and the distance between them feel non-existent.

“I- uh, what… what should I name him?” Caleb somehow managed to change the subject before he did something stupid and impulsive like _kiss_ the tiefling. Mollymauk chuckled, sounding partially disappointed, but didn’t leave much time for Caleb to think as he murmured, “I think you already know the answer to that, darling.”

Caleb slowly nodded. He had already decided a name, though he hated to admit it. He looked down at the small purple tiefling toy, speaking quietly. “Tealeaf. There, are you happy now?”  
“Throw in a ‘Mister’ and we’re golden, Mr. Caleb.” Molly winked, pulling Caleb along now to another one of the carnival attractions.

The rest of the evening went by without much event. Molly and Caleb took to the bumper cars, which they spent a good half hour at when another couple started to take the sport seriously, and Molly just could not _resist_ having a dig at them. Caleb generally was not one to partake in petty fights, but he found himself more and more engaged in the animosity, simple because he wanted to defend Mollymauk to the last, even if it was all playful.

(They bought each other hot dogs afterwards.)

Caleb had also surprised himself the most by agreeing to go on a rollercoaster though he was absolutely sure that couldn’t be good for his heart. However, with Molly by his side that night, he felt much more braver. He realised that he hadn’t been so worried about the crowd because Molly was doing a great job of taking his mind off of it.

There was a lot of unhealthy food, and Caleb knew that his stomach would not agree with him tomorrow, but with Molly buying him snack after snack after snack, he simply could not find it in himself to say no. Also because Nott said that if someone was willing to buy him food, take advantage of it as much as he could.

“Fried twinkies. This is a very strange item.” Caleb had muttered as he took a second bite of the fried cream delicacy. “Delicious, _ja_ , but very strange.”  
“I agree. We don’t have this sort of thing back home. Wherever home is.” Molly added, as an afterthought, while the two of them sat on a bench as they watched the people at the carnival pass by. They were sat with their shoulders touching, Caleb conscious of how close they were but it was welcoming, all the same.

Caleb glanced at Molly’s neck, noticing the painted peacock feathers that creeped up his jaw. These were not his tattoos, but ones that he had drawn on him by someone at the face painting stand. Caleb himself had a small ginger cat painted on his cheek, which Molly had found to be absolutely adorable and couldn’t resist from giving the wizard a kiss on the forehead.

His cheeks turned pink at the recent memory, but he shifted his focus back to the painted feathers. “These don’t look as nice as your real tattoo.”  
“No, not really. But it’s alright, I got to spend the time with you.” Molly said softly, resting his hand over Caleb’s knee and patting it gently. “It’s been a magical day. Honestly.”

Caleb managed to whisper, eyes filled with emotion as he murmured, “The only thing magical in here is you, Molly.”

Molly blinked, looking at Caleb as the wizard’s lips curved up into a warm smile, putting his hand over the tiefling’s.

“And thank you for the wonderful time today. I did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did.” Caleb added, his other hand unconsciously patting Mr. Tealeaf’s head. “I was so worried the whole week that I would ruin the day for you, but hearing you say that you enjoyed… it makes my heart filled up with so much emotion, I’m not sure what I should do with it.”

Molly nodded slowly, listening to Caleb patiently. He was aware that Caleb struggled to voice his feelings as he did now, and he was tremendously proud of him for trying.

“Hey. I’ve got one last place to take you to, and then we can leave here. It’s somewhere quieter, I think you’ll enjoy that.” Molly stood up, knowing that this was not the place to talk about their feelings in depth. He wanted somewhere more private, as he was sure Caleb wanted as well.

“Alright.” Caleb stood up, throwing away their sticks and wrappers in one of the bins as they walked through the ground, arms linked as they maneuvered through the crowd. Caleb seemed to be a lot more comfortable around Molly now that they had been there in the rush, and with each other for a good few hours. Of course, all that could change when Molly said what he had wanted to for such a long time.

That was a risk though, he was willing to take.

 

 

And quite soon, the pair reached a stream of water that was a good few feet away from the carnival, at the back. Caleb had removed his coat and laid it down on the ground, flopping down on it. He looked up at Molly, patting down next to him for the tiefling to come and take a seat.

“That’s your favourite coat, Caleb, is that alright?”  
“Oh, _ja_ , not a problem at all. I will give it a good wash tomorrow.” Caleb gave him a silly grin, and Molly, with a chuckle, sat down on the coat so as not to get his clothes wet.

“Maybe the butterbeer was not a good idea.” Molly mumbled, being one to handle alcohol well. However, there was no denying that it was amusing to Caleb be so exuberant and open, his accent becoming progressively stronger with the minute.

“I’m very glad you had a good time, Mr. Caleb.” Mollymauk cleared his throat, garnering Caleb’s attention. “Relieved as well that I did not have to call Caduceus tonight.”  
“ _Ja_ , and I am glad that you had a good time too, my friend.”

Molly snorted, putting an arm around Caleb as he said, “Friend? Wow, Caleb, I really thought we had something going here.”

Caleb, who was all smiles up to that point, turned slowly to look at the other. “Something? You mean… _more_ than friends?”  
“Yeah, I mean, I was _hoping_ -”

Molly faltered with his words, all confidence leaving him in that moment. Caleb looked at Molly with glazed eyes, his lips parted and the realisation setting in his expression. He looked so innocent, so unaware, and Molly itched to just pull him close and kiss him. He was too precious, too pure, and Molly wanted nothing more to give Caleb everything, the whole world, if he could.

“I like you. I mean, that was probably obvious. But, I love you. God, Caleb, I wish you could have seen it sooner.” Molly could feel Caleb turn stiff in his half-embrace, but Caleb was still looking at him, and he was not getting up and running away.

“Oh, Caleb,” Molly whispered, bringing a hand up to caress his cheek. “I’m madly in love with you. I want to give you everything, because you deserve it. I want to be the first person you see in the morning, the first person you kiss on a Monday morning when everything feels slow and sluggish.”  
“Mollymauk…”  
“I love you, Caleb, I really do. I know there are a lot of things that you struggle with, and I am more than willing to make them my own. You do not trouble me with these things, and I want to be there for you, and walk through them with you.”

Caleb nodded slowly, and Molly could see the panic growing in his eyes, but he still did not pull away.

“I… Molly, I am smitten. I have no more words, but I am scared that I might not be able to hold back.” Caleb said quickly, holding onto Molly’s arm. “I want nothing more to kiss you. I have wanted nothing more to kiss you for the whole evening, and I am afraid that if you keep wooing my heart I will not be able to stop myself.”

Molly tsked Caleb, giving him an incredulous look. “Then fucking kiss me, Caleb.”

Caleb leaned forward, pressing his lips against Molly’s. Drunk Caleb was a lot more confident than even Molly had made out to be, and he was so surprised that the both of them fell over, Caleb partially on top of him as he kissed him.

Molly did not resist, allowing Caleb to kiss him. Surprisingly, he was good, their tongues melded together perfectly. It was needy, it was dizzying, and Molly, feverishly holding onto his sweater as he kissed back, never wanted the moment to stop. Amongst the sounds of the gushing stream and the crickets in the rustling leaves, were gasps and hums that only they could hear. Finally, it was Molly’s tail curling around Caleb’s leg that snapped the wizard out of his trance as he pulled back, looking at Molly with widened eyes.

“ _Och_ , I am- was that too much?” Caleb’s face was a furious red as he looked down at Molly. The tiefling shook his head, his cheeks flushed and their breaths leaving them a little quicker as he pulled Caleb back down for yet another kiss.

“You’re perfect. You. Are. Perfect.” Molly was kissing Caleb’s face all over, praises leaving his mouth effortlessly and Caleb was filled with so much love and adoration for Molly that he did not know what to do with it.

“ _Liebling,_ I’m sorry, I am overwhelmed. In a good way, I just feel so much I am not sure what I have to do with myself.” Caleb mumbled, before hiding his face into Molly’s chest. “I feel so… loved, Molly. And I know that what I feel for you is the same. I am sorry I cannot say it so openly as you, but I feel the same.”

Molly ran his hand through Caleb’s hair, shaking his head though he knew Caleb could not see it. “No, Caleb, it’s quite alright. I know how you feel, and I’ll patiently wait for the day that you can say it as confidently as I do. I know how you feel.”

The sudden sound of fireworks startled the both of them, making them jump. Caleb and Molly looked at each other for a minute, before bursting into laughter at the same time.

“Is that the time? Shite, we’ve been out late, Nott will be angry with me.” Molly looked at his phone, seeing that the time was now twelve, 25th of December.

“Don’t worry. I texted her and Cad a while back, told them I’ll stay at yours if it’s too late to come back home.” Caleb gave him a grin, a twinkle in his eyes. Molly returned the mischievous smirk, as he murmured, “Oh, definitely come stay the night. Yasha’s been invited to Beau’s. We all know how their night’s going to go.”

Caleb turned over on his back to watch the fireworks, but not before he brought himself closer to Molly, unconsciously playing with the material of his coat. The fireworks filled the night sky with streaks of colour, and the band in the distance started to play a familiar tune, as children began to sing, “Merry Christmas!” and other festive tunes.

“Merry Christmas, Molly.” Caleb reached over to kiss Molly on the cheek, but the tiefling, cunning and sharp as ever, turned his face at the right time and their lips met instead.

“Merry Christmas, Caleb.” Molly smirked, as Caleb hid his face in the other’s chest once more.

**Author's Note:**

> translations;  
> Ja - yes  
> Nein, das is nicht gut - no this is not good  
> laugenbrezel - soft pretzel  
> Oh mein gott - oh my god  
> Liebling - darling


End file.
